If you are interested in requesting enrollment in an MBA elective course, please read the information below carefully. If you have any questions or issues with the platform, please email the FTMBA Academics Team at [email protected].


Who is eligible? 

You can request to enroll in an MBA elective provided:

  • You are a graduate student in another UC Berkeley department 
  • You are registered for the current semester (i.e. you must be enrolled in at least one course and have paid your fees)
  • You meet the prerequisites, if any, for the course. Check the course description for details 
  • There are open seats in the course at the end of the second week of the semester
  • Your home department or school does not offer an equivalent course

What courses are available? 

A list of Spring 2021 electives currently open to Non-MBA graduate students can be found here. This list will be updated if availability or course details change, so we recommend checking back. Click on the course numbers to view course descriptions. 

What if I don’t see the course I want on this list? 

We are not able to offer every MBA course for non-MBA enrollment. This is often the case when a course is full, was enrolled via a selection process that has already ended, relies extensively on an MBA core prerequisite, or the faculty have asked to exclude their course from the process due to client or pedagogical constraints. 

How do I submit a request? 

The MBA Program does not use CalCentral to manage its course enrollments, with the exception of MBA209F – Fundamentals of Business and MBA296.2 – Navigating Life’s Financial Decisions (see below). 

To request all other Haas MBA classes, you will instead use our MBA Request site:

  • We’ll open the process for requests on December 15 at 1pm. After that time, go to http://mbarequest.haas.berkeley.edu and log in to submit your request
    • Requests are not treated as first-come, first-served, so you just need to submit by the deadline 
      • The deadline to submit requests for Spring 2021 courses is Friday, January 29th at 1pm (pacific time)
    • You may request up to 3 MBA courses. Order them according to your preference, then indicate the maximum number of courses you wish to be enrolled in (enrollment limit)
      • Once you enter your requests, you can edit them up until the end of the process 

Please keep in mind that submitting a request does not guarantee enrollment. If a course still has open seats once MBA add/drop concludes on 1/29, then we will add non-MBAs to the course. If there are more requests from non-MBA students than seats, the system will run a randomized lottery to determine who gets in. 

Please note that because our courses are being recorded this semester, you will need to agree to our Privacy and Recording Notice before you are able to submit requests for MBA courses. You will be prompted to review and agree to the notice when you login to the MBA Request site. 

How can I keep up with a class before I know the outcome of my request and how do I access course materials? 

Most MBA courses will have a bCourses site as well as a course reader hosted on Study.net (which you can access through bCourses). An instructor can add you as a bCourses Observer even while you are awaiting the outcome of your request – it is recommended that you ask them to do so to enable you to keep up with course assignments and slides. Course recording will also be available to you for the first two weeks of class for you to use to keep up with materials and assignments should you get a seat. Recording links will be added to the list of electives once classes begin. Course recording and bCourses access will be removed if you do not get a seat in the course. 

If the course is using a Study.net reader, you will eventually need to purchase access to the “Non-Haas” labelled version of the reader through their site. We recommend that you wait until you hear the outcome of your request to purchase the reader as they are non-refundable. 

How can I tell if a class is a good fit for me? 

We recommend reviewing the course description carefully to evaluate whether the course is a good fit with your learning objectives and experience. 

When will I know the outcome of my request?

You will receive an email by Monday, February 1 to let you know the outcome of your request. We cannot let you know if you got into the course before this date. If you choose to drop a course, you may do so through CalCentral but you will be responsible for any late drop fees, so please pay close attention and make sure you finalize your requests before 1PM on January 29. 

What happens if I didn’t get the class I wanted? Can I submit another request after finding out my results?

Once we close our enrollment we are no longer taking requests. 


MBA Courses not handled through this request process: 

MBA209F.1 – Business Fundamentals: An Introduction to Business for Graduate Students | 3 units

Business Fundamentals is a course specifically designed for graduate students in schools other than Haas (and will serve as an elective course for their degree programs). The purpose of the course is to introduce non-business students to the vocabulary of business and to understand how business people analyze problems and determine strategy.  It’s not quite a “survey” course.  Rather, we cover a selection of topics in some depth as is appropriate for graduate students. 

Students can enroll directly via CalCentral – class number 20371.

MBA296.2 – Navigating Life’s Financial Decisions | 2 units

This is a course that deals with major life financial decisions (e.g., career choice, consumption v. saving, investments, mortgages, insurance) and how decision-making biases (e.g., overconfidence, present bias, limited attention) can lead to suboptimal choice.

The main learning objectives for the course are:

  • Understand the major financial decisions that you will face during your life.
  • Develop the tools needed to make choices that are best for your personal situation.
  • Analyze products and services that would improve your personal finance choices outcomes.

It is a hybrid course that combines short online videos and live classes. Potential students can preview many of the videos at https://www.youtube.com/c/MakingSmartFinancialDecisions

Students can enroll directly via CalCentral – class number 16831.